U.N. finds 'alarmingly high’ levels of violence against women

UNITED NATIONS — The evidence is ubiquitous. The gang rape of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi sets off an unusual burst of national outrage in India. U.S. colleges face mounting scrutiny about campus rape. In South Sudan, women are assaulted by both sides in the civil war. In Iraq, jihadis enslave women for sex.

Despite the many gains women have made in education, health and even political power in the course of a generation, violence against women and girls worldwide “persists at alarmingly high levels,” according to a U.N. analysis.

About 35 percent of women worldwide — more than 1 in 3 — said they had experienced violence in their lifetime.

The subject is under sharp focus as delegates from around the world gathered here Monday to assess how well governments have done since they promised to ensure women’s equality at a landmark conference in Beijing 20 years ago — and what to do next.

Since the Beijing conference, there has been measurable, though mixed, progress on many fronts, according to the analysis.

As many girls as boys are now enrolled in primary school, a sharp advance since 1995. Maternal mortality rates have fallen by half. And women are more likely to be in the labor force, though the pay gap is closing so slowly that it will take another 75 years before women and men are paid equally for equal work.

The share of women serving in legislatures has nearly doubled, too, though women still account for only 1 in 5 legislators. All but 32 countries have adopted laws that guarantee gender equality in their constitutions.

But violence against women, including rape, murder and sexual harassment, remains stubbornly high in countries rich and poor, at war and at peace. The United Nations’ main health agency, the World Health Organization, found that 38 percent of women who are murdered are killed by their partners.